Role Model
by bitterending
Summary: [DH SPOILERS] [AU] Percy takes Fred's place.


Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. The first paragraph is basically straight from 636 to set the scene, so JKR gets double credit there. XD  
A/N 1: This is what came out when I heard one too many people saying they wish Percy had died in place of Fred because they "didn't like him anyway". Also, there are SO no hints of Fred/Hermione in this story. :x Stfu.  
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"You actually _are_ joking, Perce…I don't think I've heard you joke since you were—"

The air exploded. They had been grouped together, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and Percy, the two Death Eaters at their feet, one Stunned, the other Transfigured; and in that fragment of a moment, when danger seemed temporarily at bay, the world was rent apart. There were screams and yells that filled the corridor, and as the chaos settled, they began to take shape and voice, becoming separate and understandable.

"Percy? Percy—no, god, Percy…Percy, _please…_" The dust settled, and Fred was huddled beside his brother, gripping handfuls of his robes. He was trembling with unnerving vulnerability, tears slicing through the dirt and blood on his face. "Percy, please…" Ron, Harry and Hermione all stood back, watching uncomfortably. The only emotion any of them—Ron included—had ever seen Fred show other than amusement or excitement was the few times he had been angry. Most of those times, he'd been angry at Percy. Nothing could have prepared them for this.

"Percy, you can't do this—not now. Not—" Fred cut himself off, dropping his head against his older brother's still chest. "You just…you just came back." He whispered shakily, "Please—don't leave me again." The trio exchanged nervous glances. Hermione had a hand clapped to her mouth, tears rolling over her fingers. Ron was the first to step forward, placing a pale hand on his brother's shoulder.

"He's—he's gone, Fred." Ron's voice was trembling, and tears were welling quickly in his eyes. Fred shook his head disbelievingly, his fingers trembling as they clenched white-knuckle tense in Percy's robes.

"No, he's not—he can't be—not now. I had just—I barely had a chance to—to forgive him." Ron shuddered, but tightened his hold on Fred's shoulder, steeling his resolve.

"We have to go _now_, Fred. He's gone. There's nothing you can do."

"NO! No, stop it, stop saying that!" Fred's voice was unnaturally high. Hermione shivered.

Ron looked like he was trying to take the place of their older brother, now. He was standing rigidly, trying to hold an air of control and authority. "Fred, c'mon, we have to leave him. We can't deal with this now." Fred shook his head again, pulling Percy's body to his chest. Ron blanched, pulling his hand back and stepping away. This was too much for him to process at once.

"I'm sorry." They heard him whisper softly in his brother's hair. It was obvious his apology was not meant to be overheard by the other three, so they pretended not to hear it, looking dejectedly at the dusty floor. Ron took another step back, trying to be discreet about giving him space. "For everything—I'm so—so sorry…"

There was silence for a moment, and then, unexpectedly, Hermione took a deep breath and moved forward, pulling Fred firmly to his feet. Shocked by the sudden contact, Fred dropped Percy from his grip, and a grieved noise whined at the back of his throat as he watched Percy collapse heavily against the flagstone floor.

"Fred, I know it's hard, but we have to leave." She ordered sharply, her voice giving away very little emotion. "We'll come back for him, Fred, I promise. But right now, we have got to move. Death Eaters will be here soon." Fred swallowed thickly, looking at her with an uncharacteristically helpless expression. Slowly, he nodded, and Hermione let out a long breath of relief. "We should—should move him out of harm's way, first…" she said slowly, looking down at Percy while trying not to see him.

She felt Fred shaking underneath her grip on his shoulders, but tried to act as if she didn't notice. Assuming it would be too hard for either Fred or Ron to carry their older brother, Hermione looked at Harry. "H—help me, would you?" she hadn't meant to let her voice waver, and anger at herself flashed briefly through her eyes.

Harry nodded wordlessly and stepped forward, gingerly taking hold of Percy's feet as Hermione tucked her hands under his arms. They placed him gently in a hole in the wall that had been created by the explosion as Ron looked on with blank disbelief and Fred turned away from them, his hand covering his mouth as he tried determinedly to stifle a sob.

Ron was trying desperately not to look at the brother left standing beside him, unsure of how he should take his reaction. The twins had always teased and annoyed Percy every chance they got for as long as he could remember. They always acted as if they hated him, and yet when he had disowned his family, they seemed the most affected, after their mother. Ron had never really understood why before, but had always assumed it was because they were angry that their main prank target was gone. He felt stupid for never realizing it was because they were close to him.

Thinking of them as two again made Ron realize something, but before he could even open his mouth to speak, Fred interrupted him. "I have to find George." Fred's voice was flat, and it sent chills down the spines of the other three. Hermione nodded.

"We'll find him, then." She said, somehow becoming the leader of the group in midst of tragedy when everyone else backed down. Fred blinked at her, evidently just as shocked as the others from this revelation, but unwilling to question it. "Come on. Let's go." Hermione said decisively, grabbing Fred's wrist and starting forward. Fred allowed himself to be pulled along for a moment, but eventually he began walking ahead of her until she unconsciously let go of him.

They weren't walking for long before they met George in the doorway of the Great Hall, looking exhausted and worried. His eyes fell upon his twin and his expression brightened momentarily, until he caught sight of the look on Fred's face.

"George—" Fred raced forward and threw his arms around him. George's presence released something in Fred, and he burst into tears, sobbing guiltily into his twin's neck. "George—he's _dead._" George didn't seem shocked or intimidated at all by Fred's reaction. It was as if he'd seen it a million times before; almost as if he had been expecting it. He wrapped his arms around Fred and glanced briefly at Harry, Ron and Hermione before jerking his head slightly.

"I've got him." He assured quietly, absently stroking Fred's back, "Go on ahead." The three seemed hesitant before they moved on. Hermione stopped after a few steps and looked back uncertainly, but Ron grabbed her hand and led her away. George sighed deeply as Fred tightened his grip around him.

"Percy—Percy's—it's all _my fault_, George, he—he would've been—" George shook his head, tears beginning to sting at his own eyes as he let the reality of death sink in.

"It's not your fault." George argued confidently, not needing to hear the story to believe himself steadfastly. "You didn't do anything wrong, Freddie. It's all instantaneous. You couldn't have helped him." Fred shook his head, but his sobs seemed to quiet slightly. Fred didn't say anything for a moment, and George guessed he was contemplating something. Without asking, he knew what it was. He reached up and pet gently at his brother's hair. "He knew, Fred. Don't worry, he knew."

Fred burst into a new wave of tears, but something about them seemed relieved now. The thought of Percy dying without knowing that they loved him despite their constant teasing had left an unanticipated weight on Fred's chest that only George seemed to realize. George smiled sadly into his brother's hair as he felt his cries drop in intensity. "Do you want to sit down for a minute, Freddie?" he asked softly. Fred nodded, but instead of breaking away from George to walk to the nearest bench, he dropped to his knees, dragging George down with him. George sighed and took Fred into his lap, placing his chin on the crown of his head and enveloping his arms around him.

There was a long silence as George sat calmly rocking his brother, out of way of the war. Finally he whispered, sure and comforting, "He loved us, too."

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A/N 2: Okay, I agree, it would have been _so much_ _easier_ _to take_ had Percy been the Weasley to bite it in place of Fred. I would've rathered it, too, don't get me wrong. But some people are really blaming Percy for everything, and blatently hating on him like _he _was the one to kill Fred. I love Percy. I don't think it's fair that people are saying how it was his fault and that they _wish_ it had been him, supporting their ideas by saying things like nobody liked him anyway. If it had been Percy to die, the twins would _still_ never be the same again. Percy's their closest sibling, I think. Not in age, (because it seems that besides the twins and Ron being only one year older than Ginny, they're _all_ two years apart from each other.) But I think that the reason they teased Percy so much is because they felt closest to him. They seemed more affected by his leaving than anyone else in the family except for Molly, and I figure it's typical to feel closer to an older sibling than a younger one when you're in between both like that, because (as much as the twins would deny it in their case) you look up to them.

Moving on (because holy shit, 9:30 class tomorrow morning and I'm up at 4:32am, why does this always happen to me?), aside from having to make Fred cry, which made me physically sick, I actually kinda like this one, despite the fact that (or maybe because?) it was written all in one sitting and I came up with it out of nowhere off the top of my head. Sure, it may just be because I haven't had any sleep, but I like to think it's because I'm starting to like my own writing. ...but it's probably just 'cause Fred lived here. XD; Har har.

ETA:  
Sorry, this is getting insufferably long - I hate when author's notes go on forever, but I just thought I'd add something, cause a reviewer didn't get my message, so I realized I wasn't being clear enough: I didn't write this in an effort to say that Percy's death would have been worse, or even close to _even_ with Fred's. I'm just mad at the people who act like nobody would've really even cared if Percy had died and the family could all be happy-slappy again as long as it had the twins. Granted, it would probably have a better chance at healing (losing one identical twin is like losing both while having a ghost haunt your house, seriously. It's imossible to get over something like that.) but that doesn't mean Percy's _expendable_. He was a member of the family, just like the rest of them (even if he did try to ditch them, he _did_ come back. Don't hold it against him. Fred didn't.)


End file.
